The Bucket List
by Joscelin
Summary: Studying Art is the only childhood dream Gaara has left. He doesn't care about anything or anyone besides himself. He has no future plans. But it's not so easy keep to yourself at a busy college, even less so when there is an infuriating, hyper and all too energetic blonde around. AU, Gaara x Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was a sunny Monday, September 3rd. In all honesty I never cared to remember any dates, even of the supposedly "important" events of my life. Why should I? There wasn't much I cared about in general, apart from myself_ here and now_. 'Only fools waste time thinking about the past, and even bigger fools try to anticipate the future.' This was my motto for years. At the age of 17 I already went through a period of home abuse, murder trial and two psychiatric hospitals. Sure when I was younger I tried to imagine what my future will be like, just like any other kid. But reality likes to verify our conceptions of what lies ahead of us.

As I stood in front of a large, slightly rusty iron gate I almost congratulated myself. Despite the somewhat adverse circumstances I was entering college to study Art. This was the only part of what I imagined as a child that came true. Perhaps if I was more inclined to produce any kind of positive emotions I would be smiling or feeling happy. Instead, I let my usually quite deadly stare soften a little. My face and posture still screamed "unapproachable!" but maybe no one would shriek in horror at my sight. At least for a while.

The College of Leaf was a strikingly average institution. It was average in terms of rankings, average in terms of achievements and average in terms of size. The buildings were also average and somewhat worn down. I could not care less about these things. I didn't care about the future, job prospects or anything of this kind, so why would any of the above matter. What did matter was that the campus was relatively large, with quite a few woods and green areas, and that I was able to get a single room in the dorms, so I could enjoy my solitude.

I looked up at the main building ahead of me as I walked past the gate. It was large, white, in a neo-classical style. It held the academic and dorm administration offices, as well as some of the 'important' faculties, like law and medicine. And the entire courtyard in front of it was swarming with people. Tons of people everywhere, not only excited students-to-be, but their conflicted parents and guardians as well. I winced at the thought of having to stand in the long queue for registration. I hoped that getting here early would let me avoid the crowds. Apparently, everyone and their mother had the same idea.

I adjusted the straps on my large, travel sized backpack and made my way inside the building. To the college's credit, the organisation was almost decent with lots of staff around, and despite the horde of people after about an hour I had my dorm room key in one hand, campus map in the other. I was afraid that the overall excitement that seemed to prevail would lead some people to try to talk to me, but my blank expression paired with my outfit seemed to have worked better than I anticipated. The only things I had to say so far were: "Gaara Sabaku" when asked about my name, and "Art" with regards to my main subject of study.

I wanted a large campus expecting an overall lower density of students per square meter, however after I checked the campus map I winced. Yes my dorm was technically in the best location I could wish for, right at the back in a secluded area of the campus, surrounded by a forest, but it was also almost 2 miles away and my backpack was heavy. Majority of the students came with parents who would simply drive from the main building to wherever they needed. I felt anger build inside of me. I hated exercise and being tired, and this 2 mile walk was going to make me sweat.

By the time I made it to my building I was on the verge of fury. If positive emotions were alien to me, the negative ones defined me entirely. I could go from zero to murder in two blinks of an eye. I tried calming myself down as I finally made it to the building, and almost managed to bring my blood temperature down from red hot to merely boiling, but before I realized what happened I found myself on the ground.

'What the fuck…' was all I thought before the anger overtook me again and thought processes seemed to have stopped. I looked around trying to pinpoint the fool who I was about to release my fury on, and my eyes landed on a blonde kid lying on the ground next to me. My muscles tensed up in anticipation to kill but before I managed to get up and launch myself onto my aggressor (accidental or not) he was on his feet.

"Oh no! I'm sorry! Damn I knew, I shouldn't run around like crazy and pay attention to where I'm going! I'm just ay too easily excited, that's my problem you see. Are you okay? Let me help you up! I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto by the way!"

The kid extended his hand to me in order to help me up. I must admit I was a bit startled by the fact that my clearly murderous face didn't shut him up immediately when he looked at me. No, the kid was smiling like it was all good fun. His attitude was aggravating, and all I wanted was to wipe that smile off his face with one clean blow. Maybe two, just for the good measure. But I was tired and starting a fight did not seem to be worth the trouble that was sure to follow.

"Fuck off." was all I decided to say, hatred clearly leaking from those two words. I stared at the kid and he took a step back as I got up.

"Hey um.. I did say I was sorry, are you that hurt? Maybe I…" he tried to say something else, though his voice sounded unsure. I shot him another glare which shut him up effectively, picked up my backpack and headed towards the dorm door. I could feel his gaze still on me as I was entering the building, perhaps he was still in shock. He was probably one of those overreacting happy teenagers who always smiled and found good things in everything. Sickening. I hoped to never run into him again or I would not vouch for myself. With that thought I shut the door behind me.

It was a sunny Monday, September 3rd when I first met Uzumaki Naruto. I didn't know it at the time, but for better or for worst, my life was about to change.

* * *

Hello, this is Joscelin, I'm glad you made it this far! This is my very first fanfic. I do hope that you find it interesting, the pace will eventually pick up and I do intend for this story to be quite long. It's a lot of fun to write, hopefully see you in the next Chapter soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I spent the next few days getting used to my new room and preparing for the start of term. My timetable indicated that I would be attending first courses on Friday, so I was left with just over 3 days to kill. Ha, that word definitely suits me well. After unpacking my stuff and 'redecorating' my room to my liking over the next two days I decided it was time to explore the campus. I wasn't exactly 'curious' about it, nor was I an adventurous type at all, but with nothing better to do I figured it was worth taking a stroll in the nearby woods. Especially considering my insomnia - nights tended to drag.

Some people are really freaked out by forests at night. Their fears span from wild animals, rapists and murderers to all sorts of paranormal stuff. They fear meeting people like me, and rightly so. I enjoy forests at night, they are peaceful, quiet and dark, and let me somewhat relax. If anything bad was to happen in my proximity most likely I would be the source of it, so I had no reason for fear even if I would still able to produce such emotion.

I walked around for a bit not really thinking about anything and eventually decided to sit down by a large oak tree. When I still lived at home I used to run away to the woods at night all the time, it was an escape and it made me feel safe. They wouldn't come looking for me, at least until the morning. I still enjoyed doing this from time to time. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of leaves on the wind and other, perfectly normal forest noises.

Suddenly, I heard a sound which I did not recognize Something was getting closer, there was a mixture of stomping, rustling of leaves and grunting. My heart rate increased and I could hear it in my ears, my body tensing up. Soundlessly, I rose to my feet and waited. It was almost full moon and my eyes got somewhat used to the darkness as well, so I would definitely be able to recognize the movement and act accordingly.

The sound was getting louder and I was almost sure of the direction it would come from. I could have just walked away I suppose, but I was a confrontational person by nature in situations like this. I established this forest at night as my territory, so whoever dared to trespass was in my mind an intruder. Maybe I hoped that beating someone up at night would result in enough rumors that no one would come here again? Sometimes I wasn't sure of my reasoning myself.

I could see a shape getting closer and was almost ready to attack when suddenly… *THUD!*

"Oh goooood, my leg…" a moan came from the ground which I immediately recognized Uzumaki Naruto. Well aren't coincidences happy sometimes. It was almost like someone handed him to me on a silver plate, what more could I ask for?

Something caught his attention and he looked up, catching the sight of me. His eyes grew extremely wide and he started screaming.

"OH FUCK NO! A GHOST! I KNEW IT WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA, I'M GONNA KILL SASUKE!" I took some comfort in his terrified look, I didn't even have to do anything and he was already in this state. I suppose I could just turn around and walk away, from the looks of it after tonight he would not be coming back here anytime soon. I started walking away but his voice stopped me.

"Oh. Hey wait, aren't you-?" He paused. "It's you isn't it? The guy I bumped into! Oh my god, man you could have said something, I almost had a heart attack here. Ha.. hahaha…" He laughed nervously, which is a somewhat common coping mechanism in stress situations like this, but it reminded me of his happy attitude from before and yet again I was pissed off. Maybe I should beat him up for a good measure after all. Or kill him. I weighted both options silently when he talked again.

"Um, hey could you help me up please? I think… I think I broke my ankle. And I'm a bit tipsy. Haha… " I stared at him in disbelief. "Either way um… I can't get up. Please help?" He pleaded. I stared at him as he tried to get up.

"…No." I turned around and started walking away.

"Wait… What!? Wait! You're just gonna leave me here? With a broken leg? At night? Alone?" he shouted at me. The boy seemed panicked, and the twisted part of me enjoyed the sense of control over the situation I was getting. "What if someone comes to kill me? What if I'm eaten by a wolf? Or sacrificed by witches?!" his voice was slowly starting to turn more and more hysterical.

I smirked and slowly walked back to him. His eyes met mine as I approached him, his emotions clearly written on his face like an open book. Fear. Confusion. Disbelief. I liked seeing these, he had large blue eyes which conveyed his feelings very well. I kneeled down next to him, getting closer.

"The only dangerous thing around here" I whispered "is me".

I could almost feel his skin crawl and the shiver that went down his spine. Oh how much pleasure I took in this. I got up and started walking away.

"What… what's wrong with you!?" he almost shouted at me after he got his voice back and I could clearly hear his anger. He wasn't so scared anymore, now he was pissed off. "Do you have no compassion? Why are you such a jerk?! I didn't bump into you on purpose before, I apologized too! My leg hurts and you won't even help me!"

I already said more than I usually say to people, and wasn't planning on continuing this conversation but something in his voice, maybe it was the mix of desperation, fury and confusion, made me stop in my tracks again.

"...One can only rely on himself." I stated icily.

Just as I said this I heard voices calling the boy's name in the distance: "Naruto! Naruto, where are you, idiot?!". I stiffened, and the blonde looked at me sternly.

"You know, that's not true at all."

His voice was almost sad, and his gaze anticipating, examining. As if he was for some unspeakable reason trying to understand me. My therapist used to have this look too and every time I saw it it made my blood boil.

Quickly, I walked away. I was angry and there were more people approaching. I wanted to get back to my room, to my peace and solitude. Maybe coming to college was a mistake. I hoped I would be able to keep contact with people to absolute minimum, and yet the lectures haven't started and I already encountered this boy TWICE. I hoped there weren't more like him around, otherwise I really could end up not controlling myself again.

I should have known that hoping to never run into Uzumaki Naruto again was pointless. Don't only fools try to anticipate the future...?

* * *

Well that was a quick update, I felt like writing a little bit more. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The rest of the night passed quickly. It was Friday and my classes were finally about to start. I made a mental note that I should not waste my time and energy on getting angry over such idiotic things. But the look in his eyes did bother me, there was no reason for this blonde to look as if he felt sorry for me, as if he understood. No one could ever understand. I decided not to pay any more attention to anything apart from my studies. That's why I was here after all. This is what I wanted, the only remaining part of my childhood dreams and plans.

My first class was Sculpture. The teacher, tall guy going by the name Yamato, explained to us the course structure and assignments, and showed us different materials and supplies around the room. The room itself was spacious, with big windows spanning from the ceiling all the way to the floor. The whole building was relatively new, and held about 20 different art rooms. It was in a different part of campus than my dorm, but if I took a shortcut through the forest it was only about a 15 minute walk.

The first assignment involved clay. I worked with clay a lot while in the psychiatric ward under one of the 'Art Therapists', so I expected the assignment to go very smoothly. As I started working my thoughts wandered. Majority of my work involved gruesome monsters or grotesquely morbid scenes which seemed to emerge from my subconscious. As long as I was allowed to express myself this way the need to enact these in real life was small. Before I knew it, the bell rang and the class was dismissed. I put my sculpture in my designated place (every student had a large locker of sorts to store their work).

It was almost lunchtime, so majority of students headed to the cafeteria. Groups already started to form, and fortunately for me it seemed that I creeped people out enough that no one bothered me even though it was only the first day of classes. I hardly ate anyway so I decided to go back to my room seeing as I had over an hour spare, so I headed towards the forest.

I found a small path between the trees, which most likely headed towards my dorm building. It wasn't as quiet as the night before of course, the forest was rather small and people on campus were loud, but nonetheless it was relatively peaceful.

After a while, the path turned and I noticed the large oak tree from the night before not far to the left. During the night I didn't see the path, it was much closer than I thought. I debated spending an hour by the tree instead of going back to my room, either way I would just sit and wait for the hour to pass. As I approached the tree something behind it caught my attention, an unexpected flash of absurdly bright orange, which definitely did not belong to nature. I stopped, but my footsteps were already overheard.

"Huh?" a sound came from behind the bark, followed by a tanned face with blonde hair. You've got to be kidding me.

"Oh! Oh my god, it's you again!" he shouted pointing his finger at me with the look of surprise on his face. Why did he have to speak to loud? It would surely give me a headache.

I stared at him, not showing any emotion. I must admit though I'm not sure who was more surprised, him or me. Why was he here in the first place? It's hard to think this was a coincidence, he was standing right next to that specific tree, where less than a day ago I almost beat him up. I remembered the look in his eyes as I was walking away and my fist clenched on its own accord.

He must have noticed.

"Uh, wait! Don't get angry! It's your spot, I get it, I'm not trying to steal it, seriously!" not only did he speak loudly but fast as well. The same smile I saw on the first day appeared on his face.

"I actually didn't expect to see you here." he continued.

In all honesty I didn't want to hear anything he had to say. He pissed me off before, but by the end of the year probably majority of the people would. I didn't care but for some reason I didn't walk away. Maybe it was because I broke my rule and thought back to last night more than necessary? Or because meeting him here was a hardly expected event? Who knows.

"Um, well I actually wanted to see if you are alright. Like, seriously, last night the things you said, it seemed like maybe you were sad or something. I think I did something wrong. I was worried." He continued.

I was thankful for my inability to show emotions on my face, because I could hardly believe what this blonde in front of me was saying. Did he just say he was _worried_ about me? Why? In my entire life no said such things to me, apart from people who were paid to act like they cared.

"So…" he paused for a few seconds, unsure how to react. My complete lack of reaction was probably something he didn't experience often. "Well, are you alright?" he grinned, the sort of 'everything will be alright' smile.

Many times over after this day I broke my rule to not think about the past, and went back to these events. I tried to understand his motives, tried to find deceit or any other sign of malice in his eyes. But I couldn't. It seemed that, for reasons beyond me, he actually meant what he said. The thought was absurd, no one would ever care about me, my family didn't so why would a random, infuriating blonde teenager?

Later I tried to tell myself that the situation was so nonsensical it caught me off guard. It definitely wasn't because the blonde in front of me already began to change me. And that's why instead of doing what I normally would, walking away without saying a word, I said:

"How is your leg."

Four words. I think I was even more bewildered by the fact that I said it than he was. What was wrong with me?

"Oh, it's alright!" the smile returned to his face immediately, and I realised what a huge mistake I made. "It wasn't broken after all! Sometimes I exaggerate a little bit, haha. Sasuke and Kiba came for me so it was all good!" His grin grew even wider as if to reassure me of his words. Could people really convey such things through smiling?

Part of me was strangely satisfied with this answer, the other screamed at me for my stupidity. My question could only be interpreted as a sign that I cared about what happened to him. Which, of course, I didn't even if I thought back to last night a few times.

In order to salvage whatever else I could from this situation I turned around and started walking away. I knew he wouldn't leave it like this, but I wasn't going to continue this conversation.

"Hey wait!" he run after me. "Wait, you didn't tell me if you were okay, that's why I came here. I asked you first, right?"

He put his hand on my shoulder trying to stop me. The touch made me stiffen and immediately I smacked his hand off. The blonde looked slightly surprised but instead of questioning my reaction he smiled again.

"So? Are you ok?" he waited for my response. I contemplated what would be the best answer to just get him to shut up and disappear.

"Leave me alone."

"Huh?" his smile dropped a bit as I started to walk again. "No, wait! I answered your question. Seriously, you have to answer mine! That's the rule of the world! You get something in exchange for something!"

His babbling was getting on my nerves. I was already annoyed with myself, he didn't have to do much for my anger to rise to dangerous levels.

"Oh, oh by the way! What's your name?"

Even though he looked like a moron this was not the first time his question made me stop in my tracks. No one asked about my name so casually before. There was no reason for him to know my name, sooner or later the rumours would spread and everyone would know it without me having to say it to anyone. That's how it always was before. Yet again I couldn't fathom why he cared to ask.

"My name is Naruto! Oh yeah I think I actually told you this before, haha." He laughed and then pointed his finger at me in an accusatory manner. "This means you owe me TWO pieces of information! I told you I was okay AND I told you my name! Seriously!"

My head was really starting to hurt and I only had myself to blame for this. I should have kept my mouth shut.

"Okay well, maybe because I'm so nice I will let you off with just one piece of info today!" I glared at him, the blonde looked really happy with himself. "But I get to pick which! Okay, so. Are you alright?"

At this point I just wanted all of this nightmare to be over. He was confusing, loud, and all too happy for me to want to spend another second with him nearby. Answering his question could not have made the situation worse.

"…Yes."

He didn't look entirely satisfied with my answer, but I guess he realized he wasn't getting anything else out of me today. Or any other day for that matter.

"Phew, okay I'm glad!" he sounded relieved. "Right, well I gotta run for lunch, I'm starving! I'm glad you are okay. Next time you will have to tell me your name! See you around!" he grinned and started running in the direction I came from.

I sat down by the tree, trying to make sense of what just happened, though it made none. After the boy left the forest became wonderfully peaceful again. I closed my eyes , vouching to never speak to him again.

But I was about to find out that reality likes to verify these kinds of resolutions.

* * *

Thank you for reading once again! And special thanks to nala87 for encouraging me. TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The rest of the day passed quickly, though I was sure Friday afternoons were going to drag in future. My last class of the day was History of Art with a guy called Kakashi. I didn't care for my teachers' appearances but wearing a mask in school seemed rather odd. But who am I to judge, my own appearance was far from typical.

Even as a child I was on the 'smaller' end of the size spectrum so to say. Not much has changed and even know as a teenager I was only 166cm tall and barely 50kg on a heavier day. Not that it mattered. Appearances can be deceiving, I taught this lesson to some people in the past very effectively when they landed in hospitals.

Apart from a tattoo on my forehead I also had a few more which few have seen – a gun on each hipbone and a proverb in Chinese characters down my spine: "Cunning surpasses Strength". I usually wore fitted clothes in dark colors such as black jeans, studded boots, and a dark red top which was my outfit today. Until therapy I never cared for clothes or my looks, but as a part of treatment I had to shop for new clothing and at least pretend I cared. I was then to wear these clothes on a daily basis around the ward. Picking random things from the rack and clearly not giving a damn would have meant the therapist would chose all clothes. It was much better to cooperate in this instance. As a result I had a reasonable amount of clothing which kind of fit my personality, at least to an extent.

History of art really did not interest me. Why did it matter what a middle-aged guy painted in 16th century? Isn't art supposed to be about expressing oneself? The subject annoyed me even more because it was all about the past, and as a result was the last thing of my things to give a damn about. But a class is a class, it was compulsory so I had no choice but to at least half pay attention.

After 2 hours boredom was visible not only on students faces but even the teacher looked like he was about to fall asleep. He set us an essay to write and let us go just as the bell rang. Slowly, I packed my books and left the classroom after everyone else. It was around 5pm, the sun was slowly setting. I considered what to do with the rest of my day and the approaching weekend. Not sleeping meant I had a lot more time on my hands than majority of my peers.

Eventually I decided to go back to my dorm, leave my books and get something to drink, and come back to work on my sculpture. The Art Department had an open door policy, so if someone felt sudden inspiration in the middle of the night they had access to all the supplies necessary. I already established that the art building was going to become one of my mostly frequented places.

As I headed towards the building exit I caught myself slightly hesitant to use the forest shortcut. Albeit extremely unlikely, considering my luck over the past few days that _boy _would be there. I scolded myself mentally. What was I, 12? If he was there I would either completely ignore him or just beat him up already, which I should have done from the beginning. And enough with the stupid superstition, since when did I believe in luck?

I left the building deciding I will use the shortcut, but I barely made it to the stairs when I heard a familiar voice behind me:

"Man, you took your time, everyone already left!"

Not believing my ears I looked behind me. The smiling blonde boy was leaning on the wall next to the door. My thoughts were so occupied with the plan of not meeting him in the forest (or beating him up if I did run into him) that I didn't even realize that someone was there. He approached me, his grin wider:

"So, since you made me wait for you for sooo long, you can pay me back by giving me that piece of information you owe me!"

I looked at him blankly. What on earth was he on about? Why was he even here? Did he say he was waiting… for me? Why? The amount of questions without answer quickly filled my head, and the confusion started swiftly turning into even greater distrust. Could he have a plan to repay me for scaring him the night before? Is that what's this about? Is he making fun of me? Why won't he leave me alone?

There were so many effective ways of ending this conversation right there and then, walking away for one, or perhaps telling him to fuck off, or just about a million other things.

"Why are you here." was not one of these things. Why, why did I once again blurt something out to him. It meant I was effectively 'conversing' with him. Sometimes I felt like there were to split entities living inside of me. Or perhaps it was just because I was confused and I needed at least some answers.

"Um… I told you I would see you later, yeah? And that you owe me a piece of information too! So I came here to get it." he grinned, happy with his explanation, like it was the most obvious thing on earth. To me, it was not a satisfactory answer at all. It did not explain WHY he wanted that information or WHY he was waiting for me. I decided on a different tactic for now.

"How did you know I would be here." I stared at him icily.

"An educated guess." His smile grew further.

Looking at the boy, the thought of him playing Sherlock Holmes was absurd. I questioned how he satisfied entrance requirements, the implication that he had any kind of deduction abilities was laughable.

"I saw which way you came from before, you know? And I know which dorm you live in."

He paused, looking at my reaction. There was, of course, none to be seen.

"Apart from the Art department there is only Mathematics and Business buildings around, and you don't look like you belong to either of those faculties. So I took a guess!" his face almost beamed with self-satisfaction.

It was not the answer I expected, and I reluctantly realized that he knew that. Still, it did not answer the question as to WHY he cared so much to stalk me after classes.

"You know, you should really be careful." He said, a hint of mischief in his voice. I glared at him, anticipating what kind of threat he was about to pose. Maybe I will finally get to the root of this situation, maybe it was about payback after all.

"I just answered another one of your questions! Now you owe me MORE information! Haha, seriously! You make it so easy!" he laughed happily.

At this point it was almost too much for me to handle. I should have known better, this guy was just crazy. I've seen crazy before, I should have recognized it immediately. The fact that wasn't locked up proved nothing. I sighed, angry with myself. I wasted my time completely unnecessarily. I tried not to notice a small part of me which was, I'm not even sure what… Disappointed? By what, the fact that the world still didn't care about me? How foolish.

"So, your name please."

His face was suddenly only a few inches away from mine. He moved so quickly I didn't register the movement. Or perhaps I was too caught up scolding myself mentally. My eyes grew wider and pulse increased. I wasn't exactly scared but for some reason I completely froze, unsure what to do. I should punch him… Or walk away… Something, anything! But despite these thoughts my body would not move.

His face had an almost serious expression, he was looking me straight in the eyes. I could still see some of that playfulness he displayed before in them. Never before did I have so much trouble reading someone's intentions.

"Oy, Naruto. What are you doing there?" An annoyed voice behind me called out to the blonde. "Are you bothering people again, idiot? Let's go home."

I turned around as the blonde boy run down the stairs towards one of his friends I assume. The guy was tall, he had black hair and a clear 'I'm too cool to care' attitude. He paid little attention to the blonde running towards him and instead stared at me in an assessing manner. I returned his glare.

"Sasukeee, you bastard! Why do you always call me an idiot?! I told you to stop! Seriously!" He tried to punch his friend, who easily dodged.

"Heh, you can't even hit me. Idiot."

"What did you just say?!"

Black haired guy knew that he was aggravating the blonde and did it on purpose of course. Whether he realized or not, to me it was the perfect chance to take my leave, so I headed towards my shortcut.

"Hey wait!" I heard a loud shout behind me. "Sasuke, you bastard I told you I have stuff to do! I'll catch you later!" to my utter dismay I heard the blonde run after me. So much for the perfect chance, he wasn't as dumb as I hoped. He caught up with me in no time.

"Phew, okay sorry about that. So, you were about to tell me your name." he continued the conversation from before as if nothing happened.

I gave him one of my best 'stop fucking talking to me' looks and continued walking, but instead of shutting him up it somehow encouraged him to speak more. Crazy people are unpredictable, I knew this first hand.

"Oh yeah, that guy before was Sasuke. He is my friend! I've known him for years, we went to the same primary school and all." He babbled on. "He acts like a bastard but I know he cares deep down, he wouldn't let me die in a forest or something haha!" He laughed at his own supposed joke.

I wasn't paying attention to his ramblings, at least he wasn't asking questions but apparently decided on explaining his fascinating biography to me. Why was he still talking to me was beyond me. Yes, maybe my stupidity encouraged him somehow but it should be clear by now I do not wish to speak to him or spend time in his company. Or any company. Disregarding the possibility of mental illness I tried assessing other explanations. Some people took interest in me because they considered me 'intriguing'. Abnormalities often fascinate people. Did he consider me that interesting? He knew nothing about me, and as far as I knew there weren't any rumors around about me yet.

He continued talking and I remained engrossed in my own thoughts. The dorm building finally became visible when suddenly he stopped in front of me. Only now I realized that he was in fact taller than me.

"So, now that you owe me a whole ton of information I think you should at least tell me your name." he smiled at me again. So he hasn't given up on this yet. Demented people are exhausting. I tried walking around him but he blocked my way.

"Hey I'm not letting you off with all the free info!" he grinned. " Either you tell me or you aren't getting home!"

I gave him another dirty look. He was bigger than me, but I was pretty sure I could take him down. I would have the first mover advantage. One shot in his solar plexus would be more than enough. Yet for some reason I couldn't explain a small part of me wanted to answer him. No one has ever asked about my name before, no one ever tried to communicate with me in any way. Would it really be so bad to give him my name…? I tried to remind myself that twice now I listened to the small voice inside me, and twice regretted it.

"Come on, you know you want to tell me! I told you all about my favorite food and Sasuke, and…"

"…Gaara."

The blonde stared at me as I interrupted his sentence. "Huh?"

"…That's my name." I stated in a monotone voice.

He blinked a couple of times and a huge grin came on his face. He looked… happy? Happy about what I wasn't sure, but telling him my name was apparently something to be excited about. I don't think I ever made someone even remotely happy before.

"Ha, awesome! I knew you would tell me your name! Mission accomplished!" He looked victorious. "Well I bothered you enough for one day! You owe me much more though, remember! I will see you around!"

I stood there in disbelief as he run towards the direction which we came from. That was all it took to get him to finally leave me alone? Once again I bit my tongue a second too late.

"…Why did you want my name?" I shouted after him.

He turned around, sent me a grin and shouted back:

"Because you are on my Bucket List!" And with those words he left me there. I stood there for a while, there weren't many times in my life I've been this confused.

"…What on earth is a bucket list?" I asked myself out loud.

* * *

Hello again! Thank you for reading, I hope you liked this chapter! And thank you to once again to Nala87 and Rayie 159, I hope you will continue to find this story interesting! TBC.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I spent my weekend in the Art Room. Unsurprisingly, I was there alone almost the entire time. After all it was just the beginning of the term and majority of people focused on partying and bonding I assume. As I cared for neither of the two spending my time on assignments seemed like a good choice. It also allowed me to think in peace. I was probably fooling myself when I decided that thinking about the events which involved the blonde was not really thinking about the past, per se. I still refused to dwell on the past, but since this was an on-going issue there was no reason not to ponder.

And there was a lot to think about. No matter which way I tried approaching the topic it did not make sense. Why was the boy so dead set on getting information out of me? Why did he get so excited to learn my name? Soon he would have heard it somewhere anyway. I was becoming somewhat concerned with my own actions as well. I knew my behaviour only encouraged the response I got from him. Speaking to him was the first mistake and then answering his question was another.

And why did I freeze when he got so close to me? Anyone to invade my personal space was subject to my body's automatic reaction, that is: attack. Yet this time I couldn't make a move when he stared into my eyes. All of this sounded not only unlike me, but also very lame. I was starting to behave weird. On Saturday I thought I caught a movement in the corner of my eye and I was convinced I saw blonde hair. My heart started beating unreasonably fast, the hair on my neck rose. Worst of all I recognised the emotion as not only surprise but… something else, I couldn't exactly pinpoint.

Of course, I checked the definition of 'Bucket List' but ultimately I couldn't decide if it was better that I knew what it meant or worse.

Bucket List  
_ noun (informal)_

~a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime.

I wasn't sure what to make of it. Clearly the blonde had some kind of odd resolution he hoped to achieve, but what did it have to do with me? Why would he say such a thing? With the information I had my best guess was that he decided, for some unspeakable reason, to befriend me. I slapped myself mentally for even considering such possibility. No one in their right mind would want to have anything to do with me. I guess the problem was exactly this: _no one in their right mind_.

By Sunday evening, having finished my sculpture and my art history essay, I decided it was about time to head back to my room. I haven't left the building since Saturday afternoon when I went to get a few bottles of water and a coke, it was probably time to eat something. I gathered my stuff and headed for the exit.

Fortunately, there were no blondes sneaking up on me this time. For a brief moment I considered taking the longer route back but I quickly dismissed the thought. It was probably one of the last warm evenings this Autumn so I decided to spend a little bit of time outside.

The forest was pleasingly quiet, as expected. I reached 'my' oak tree and after I making sure no one was there I decided to sit down for a while. I couldn't believe I suddenly got so worked up over the whole situation as to almost sneak up on a tree. Paranoia was never listed in my diagnosis as far as I know.

I sat there for a while, enjoying the silence and before I realized I dosed off. Spontaneous naps hardly happened to me. Any kind of sleeping was a success, and it usually took hours of tossing around in bed beforehand. Perhaps starting college also got to me in its own way.

I'm not sure how long I slept. It must have been at least 3 hours, considering the temperature. Even before I opened my eyes, I knew something was of though. I was only wearing a short sleeved shirt, yet my arms did not feel cold that I clearly felt on my face. Slowly I opened my eyes and noticed… a bright orange jacket someone put over me.

I stared at it blankly, my brain refusing to acknowledge what my gut already knew. It was the blonde's jacket. There was not even a shadow of a doubt, for one I've seen him wear this outrageous colour before, and on top of it he was the only one who could have possibly found me here. I was slowly starting to suspect that I had in fact schizophrenia and none of this was happening, I just made it up in my head.

My back became sore so I shifted slightly.

"Oh, you are awake already?" a concerned voice came from a few feet away. The blonde boy was sitting next to me by the tree apparently.

My face must have given away my confusion or the boy simple guessed my unspoken question because he continued:

"I saw you fell asleep and it was getting cold, so I put my jacket over you. You could have gotten a cold though! Why would you sleep here? It's not even that comfortable, my ass really hurts now too from sitting on the ground!" I tried to process the string of words into something understandable.

"…Why." I stared at the boy, who was unsurprisingly smiling again.

"Oh, why I gave you my jacket? I told you, you could have gotten a cold! Oh, if you mean why didn't I wake you up, well… Haha, how to say this I was scared you were going to subconsciously punch me or something." He sounded almost apologetic, as if he was sorry for making such assumptions which bewildered me. Has he not noticed my clearly UNFRIENDLY conscious reactions?

"…Why do you care if I get a cold." I asked in a monotone voice.

"Well I wasn't going to just leave someone to get a cold, that's not nice!"

So it was an act of random kindness? It sounded like a reasonable possibility… until I considered everything else that happened so far with this boy around. I was no fool, it was no coincidence that he was in this forest by this tree. Maybe he wasn't expecting to actually meet me here, but I was fairly certain I was the reason why he was here. He was _actively_ trying to meet me.

I studied his face. He was fairly tanned with some scars on his cheeks. His eyes were impossibly blue and all too happy. In this case tip toeing around would not work, I had to be blunt.

"…Why do you seek my company so much? I can hardly believe it is a coincidence that you are here."

He stared back at me, slightly surprised as if my question caught him off guard. Perhaps he didn't think I would say to him more than a few words at a time.

"I told you, you are on my bucket list." He grinned. I barely stopped myself from sighing.

"…Why."

"Because!" he stuck his tongue out. He stuck his fucking tongue out at me. "You owe me so much info that I have no obligation to answer any of your questions you know!" he looked at me, challenging. I was not going to participate in this any longer, he knew I wanted him to answer and thought he would coax me into answering some of his questions. I enjoyed proving people wrong.

I started slowly getting up when I felt his hand on my wrist, pulling me down.

"Wait, okaaay fine." he pretended to pout. "You can pay me back later."

I stared at him blankly and snapped my wrist out of his hand, although I did not fail to notice that his hand was pleasingly warm and soft. Not sure why my mind decided to register that particular observation. It didn't look though like he was about to start talking on his own.

"…So?"

"Ah, yeah bucket list! Well like I said you are on it!" he grinned. I could have sworn my patience was being tested heavily at that moment and it took all the restrain I had to prevent myself from hitting him.

"..And?"

"And? Well a bucket list has things you intend to do in your lifetime! So, naturally as you are on it it's natural that I uh, seek your company as you said!"

What the blonde was saying was confusing. He perhaps did not realise but he just implied that I was something he intended to 'do'. Of course he must have meant that I was part of something he intended to do, not something he actually wanted 'TO DO' but nonetheless the thought occurred to me all too quickly for my liking. Why was I even thinking this? Was this some kind of hormonal response that occurred naturally in teenagers? I had no idea.

I was starting to scare myself, and being scared was the first step for me to becoming angry, but before any clear emotion managed to form the blonde spoke again:

"Hey do you reckon we could stay here for a while longer?" he held my stare, unspoken question 'why' hanging in the air. "It's one of the things on my bucket list to spend a whole night outside in a forest! But I'm scared to stay alone, haha it gets really scary!"

I suddenly realised I was still covered by his jacket. I threw it at him and started getting up. I should have walked away without even looking at him, his weird ideas were none of my concern. But I did look and the disappointment on his face startled something inside of me. Even if unasked, he did do me a favour by lending me his jacket. I wasn't going to trade information with him, but perhaps I did owe him something this time. It's always better to pay back what you owe as soon as possible I suppose. I debated the idea for a few more seconds.

"…Next Friday." I could see clear disbelief on his face, which quickly changed into a huge grin. A slightly warm feeling washed over me. Was this why people did others favours?

"Wow! Cool! For real?" he jumped to his feet excitedly. "Yes, Gaara you are the best!"

I can't say anyone ever called me 'the best' before. Surprisingly, the feeling of immediate regret was much smaller than I anticipated.

"But, you have to pinky promise!"

I stared at him blankly. …What.

"You know, I trust you and all, but it's a rule! When you promise something it has to be a pinky promise!" he made a fist out of his right hand and extended the smallest finger. "You do the same!"

Suddenly I felt as if I was back in Art therapy class where we had to draw smiling suns and smiling flowers. What on earth did I get myself into? I copied what the blonde did and he shook my hand by the pinky.

"Ha, it's a deal then!" He jumped around a little in his spot. "Okay, then we better head back, it's almost 1am according to my watch! We should probably head back to the dorm, its Monday tomorrow after all!"

Suddenly he cared about Monday? A few minutes ago he was happy to stay outside all night. My diagnosis of the blonde now included a new position: 'Bipolar'.

Considering the 'meeting' with the blonde over I started to walk away when he spoke once again.

"Um, actually Gaara…" his voice suddenly sounded unsure. I looked back at him now starting to feel unsure myself about what he was going to say this time. "Well, problem is, I don't have a key to my dorm. I share a room with Sasuke and he went home for the weekend, and I lost my key so…"

It was not my problem the blonde was an idiot, but above all I did not like where the conversation was heading. He looked at me pleadingly.

"Can I stay at yours please?"

A long silence followed. That was definitely one of the things I never expected to hear in my entire lifetime. But doesn't reality like to verify our expectations?

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope you like the story so far. It will most likely be all from Gaara's point of view, but I am considering following up with an alternative version all from Naruto's point of view. We will see how this one goes though. Hope you are having at least a little bit of fun reading it! Once again, thank you Rayie for your support, I really appreciate it! TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I was still trying to figure out how the blonde persuaded me to accept his plea as we headed towards my dorm. Was I really this soft? Why did I agree? After his question a long silence followed. I think I was too stunned to react. Did I mishear what he just said? Or made it up in my head? But the look on the boy's face made me stop questioning my sanity, at least in this case – he really did say it. If I was to give him the benefit of the doubt I'd say he was just pushing his luck. Suddenly it also made sense why he wanted to stay outside all night – he really didn't have other alternatives. I suppose other departments did not have an open door policy, or perhaps he didn't know about it which was equally as likely.

Either way, considering the fact I already slept that night I was sure I would not be getting any more sleep. Of course the blonde didn't know that. For some reason though I knew that if I said 'no' this time he wouldn't insist much… And maybe that's what made me answer:

"…Okay." I didn't even attempt to hide the resignation in my voice but considering I just agreed I don't think the blonde noticed it anyway.

He let out a happy squeak of sorts, run up to me and _hugged me_. My body immediately stiffened but it seemed he didn't care. He let me go, but I could still somehow feel his warmth. I don't think anyone has ever hugged me properly before.

"You are a really nice person after all, Gaara!" he proclaimed happily. I snorted at the thought, he clearly forgot the last time he met me here at night.

It's peculiar how easily I changed my mind about things with the boy around. Maybe I was much more influential than I thought? We approached my dorm building. Majority of the lights were off, probably because it was Sunday. I lead the way, and I could feel him walk closely behind me.

My room was on the 4th floor at the end of the corridor. As we walked in his eyes grew wider.

"Wow…" For once he seemed speechless. I didn't do much to alter my room but apparently it was enough to surprise the blonde. Even before I came I was sure I would not be happy with the 'standard' look of the room so I sent a parcel to myself due to arrive on the same date as I did. I changed the hideous blue curtains for black velvet ones. My bed covers were also black with the exception of one red pillow. I also had a large set of speakers and a few paintings on the walls. The paintings weren't particularly disturbing, there was no blood or pieces of ripped out flesh, they were just very dark and surreal… Although one of them did depict a corpse of a woman with a skull instead of head, maybe that alone was enough to be seen as gloomy by some.

I watched the blonde as he looked around my room. Examining other people so closely wasn't something I did often. I already noticed before that he was taller than me, he also had a stronger built. Not fat or beefed just.. appetising.

…_Appetising? _What kind of word was this? I averted my gaze from him before any other odd adjectives came to my head.

"You can use the bathroom first." I pointed him towards the door in the corner of my room.

"Wow, seriously? You have _en suite_? " He looked impressed but I just rolled my eyes. By now I noticed that he was very easily impressed with just about anything.

I took a spare towel out of my wardrobe and handed it to him, together with a pair of tracksuits and a tank top. I didn't do it out of friendliness, rather I was afraid the blonde would sleep in his clothes or worse – his underwear.

He went to shower and I contemplated my strange behaviour once again. The sound of running water was suddenly interrupted by a different kind of noise. The blonde was… singing? I found myself strangely curious to listen. His voice wasn't earthshattering, but he could hold majority of the notes. He seemed to be singing some kind of pop song, including imitating the instruments.

"Man, thanks Gaara, it was so good to take a hot shower after sitting outside!" he walked out of the bathroom, towel around his neck. My clothes were of course too small for him. The pants sat low on his hips but they were still a little bit short. The tank top tightly wrapped around his wide chest, emphasizing his muscles. 'Why am I staring?!'

He looked at me.

"What, do these look odd on me?" He examined himself, as if it mattered. "They are a little bit on the small side for me, but hey, better these than no clothes!"

Yep, definitely better. I grabbed my sleeping clothes (which was just a pair of pants, really) and went to the bathroom without saying anything else. I let cold water run over me for a while, it always cleared my head. I was a bit worried about leaving the boy free to roam around my room. I didn't think he would invade my privacy in any way, but you never know. I washed myself quickly and walked out of the bathroom to find him standing by the shelf with a book in his hands. He seemed focused on reading, but as I approached closer he turned to me. His eyes grew wider. This was the second time it looked like he didn't know what to say. A silence followed.

"Are these… real?" He eventually pointed at tattoos on my hipbones. I probably should have known he would ask, I could have put a shirt on, but it was too late now. I guess ultimately it didn't mattered if he saw them or not.

"Yes." I walked past him towards the wardrobe to fold my clothes away. I knew his gaze was now on my back piece. Maybe he thought I was showing off, but I honestly didn't care, I tried to pay as little attention to him as possible.

That's probably the reason why I didn't realise that all of a sudden he was standing right behind me. His fingertips just barely brushed along my spine, and it made me shiver inside. I turned towards him with a stare.

"Did it… hurt?" for some reason he was almost whispering, and the sound of his voice gave me goosebumps. He was standing closer than necessary I was sure of it. The boy was looking at me with the same expression which made me freeze in front of the Art Department before, the kind of look I could not describe. My pulse seemed to have simultaneously risen and stopped. I stared into his blue eyes not understanding at all what was happening. Was I starting to feel dizzy? I tried pulling myself together.

"No."

I cursed myself, why was _I_ whispering now as well? He didn't look convinced. Honestly, compared to the pain I felt before, this one was almost liberating. Seconds passed and neither of us moved. The blonde seemed to be contemplating something his eyes focused on mine, as for myself… I don't even know what I was doing. Finally I managed to snap out of it.

"It's past 2am, you should sleep." I told him and walked towards the desk where I had my textbooks. Thankfully my voiced returned to natural levels

"Wait, what about you? I'm not gonna steal your bed, I can sleep on the floor!"

"I won't sleep anyway." I told him, my voice monotone. He looked at me blankly.

"Why?"

"I don't sleep much." I told him in a voice which indicated that I really didn't feel like talking about it. I let him stay in my room, I didn't say I was going to entertain him for the whole night.

Maybe he read between the lines or was simply getting sleepy because after a yawn he decided to drop the subject.

"So is it ok if I…?" he pointed at the bed.

"Yes."

He quickly wrapped himself in the covers, lying on his side facing the desk, and yawned again.

"I can sleep through anything, don't worry about the light" he told me and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Gaara."

There were a lot of 'firsts' this week for me. First time living on my own, first time someone asking about my name and act like he cared, first time someone hugged me… I guess this was the closest thing to 'sleepover' I would ever experience as well. Another first. I tried to rationalise it all with the whole talk about 'starting to live your life once you go to college' but… Part of me suspected college itself had little to do with it. I looked at the blonde, his barely audible snoring the only thing breaking the silence.

"…Goodnight."

* * *

Thank you for reading and following the story so far!

Nala87: Thank you for being so nice! The reasons for Naruto's Bucket List will be revealed in a couple of Chapters! :)

Rayie 159: Once again a warm thank you, your support means a lot! I'm glad you enjoy it so far :)

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

** Chapter 7**

I tried occupying myself while the blonde slept, however whenever I managed to concentrate on my book and almost forget about him he turned or tossed around in his sleep, reminding me of his presence. It was such an alien feeling to have someone sleep in my proximity. He wasn't a peaceful sleeper though, that's for sure. But I didn't know anyone who would willingly agree to such a thing.

Yet there he was, his blonde spiky hair peeking from under the covers. I glanced at him every once in a while. Okay, truthfully maybe a bit more often than that, but I wasn't eager to admit it to myself. Unidentified emotions circled around my system.

Slowly the sun rose and first rays of sunlight illuminated my room. It felt as if only a couple of minutes have passed, and at the same time as if the time has stopped. I finished making notes from yet another chapter a few minutes after 8am. The room was now filled with daylight, and I realized the boy in my bed might not have joked and may really sleep through anything. For some reason the problem of having to wake him up did not cross my mind until now.

He looked like a heavy sleeper as the brightness of the room did not seem to bother him one bit. How was I going to do it? There was something strangely… personal about waking someone up. Sleep is one of those times when a person is absolutely defenseless vulnerable. I suppose I could have tried shouting to wake him up, although raising my voice wasn't something I did often, especially indoors. People usually react to hearing their own name which is an effective way of waking someone up, but was also out of the question – I never called anyone by their name and I wasn't about to start.

Approaching the bed I decided to give a 'vocal wakeup' a try anyway.

"…Hey. Wake up."

No reaction, unsurprisingly.

"…Wake up. You will be late." I raised my voice a little.

The boy didn't move in the slightest. I sighed. I had a feeling raising my voice further would only result in a sore throat and not a movement from the snoring body in my bed. I considered other options. I could splash him with cold water or perhaps power on my stereo system. There was also the possibility of waking him up by shaking him. I flinched. Was I just considering touching someone when there were other, perfectly viable options?

I studied his sleeping face. The scars on his cheeks were strangely interesting and in a weird way appealing. Were they as soft as the rest of his skin? Was the scar tissue thick, suggesting they were relatively new, or did he have them for a while? My curiosity rose, I wanted to touch them. I considered the idea for a minute, but seeing as he wasn't about to wake up easily I saw no harm in it. By now after spending a considerable amount of time around the blonde I paid no attention to the alarm bells that were going off inside my head.

Slowly my hand rose to his face and I gently stroked one of the scars with my thumb. They were thin and soft, barely detectable by touch alone. Almost like in a trance I run my thumb along the peculiar line a few more times.

"…Gaara?" As a sleepy voice reached my ear I snapped out of it, quickly pulling my hand away. A pair of large blue eyes watched me closely.

"What are you doing?" For someone who supposedly 'can sleep through anything' he woke up surprisingly fast. I looked at him blankly trying to pretend he did not startle me at all.

"…It's 8am, you'll be late for class." I answered him in the most monotone voice I could muster.

"Oh." He looked a bit puzzled, and I was pretty sure it wasn't only because he just woke up.

Apparently he finally comprehended what I just said, stretched a few times, yawned and eventually got out of bed. He didn't display much of that cheerful personality which he typically annoyed me with. The blonde was not a morning person at all.

He attempted to make the bed, leaving it only marginally better than if he just let it be. Collecting his stuff on the way he vanished in the bathroom. It didn't take him long, he probably chose to get just dressed, and shower back in his own dorm. A welcome decision, the sooner he went the better. He entered the room just as I was finishing the bed.

"Thanks a lot again Gaara!" his cheerful mode on again, he grinned at me. "I really owe you for this one!"

I looked back at him. What do people usually say in such situations? 'Great, now leave' did not seem like the appropriate answer.

"…You're welcome."

He smiled at me again, but for some reason his expression quickly changed to a more serious, almost contemplating one. Earlier 'bipolar' diagnosis of the blonde was gaining grounds by the minute. My eyes widened as he slowly walked towards me and stopped only a couple of inches away, too close for comfort by far. I didn't have enough space to step back. I wanted to look away but something made me hold his gaze. I could feel my heart crash against my ribs not understanding what was happening. What was he going to do? A jolt of anticipation run down my spine.

Swiftly, he grabbed my right hand guiding it to his face, making my palm run along his scars. My mouth opened slightly in surprise as he closed his eyes. I swallowed audibly.

"It's fine if you want to touch them you know, they don't hurt." He said softly, his eyes still closed. I noted that he was still holding my hand and now wasn't sure it was me stroking his face, or him feeling my hand with his cheek. My lack of social interactions and inexperience betrayed me again as I tried to figure out what to do. Because, really – how was I supposed to know how to react to this kind of situation? Surely it wasn't a normal thing to happen, especially between two guys. Especially between _ME_ and anyone. I was flabbergasted and overwhelmed. He opened his eyes and…

_ ~ Tooku de kikoeru koe wo hitori / Hitori mata hitori…! ~_

He flinched, surprised, and took his mobile out of his pocket. I quickly snapped my hand away from him.

"Hello, Sasuke?" he answered. The voice on the other side seemed to be irritated, although I couldn't make out exactly what was being said. The blonde started pacing around my room.

"Okay, I will be there soon!... Yes, I did sleep tonight inside, no thanks to YOU!" I noticed that whenever he raised his voice he also gesticulated wildly.

"Yes, yes, calm down we won't be late for class. Seriously! And STOP CALLING ME THAT!" He yield into the handset before finishing the call.

He sighed, but turned to me with a grin already back on his face.

"I gotta run! Sasuke just got back and said he made a copy of the key for me, and I need to shower and change before the classes start!" He told me, as if he needed to explain why he was leaving. "Thanks again though, I mean it."

I nodded in response, not trusting myself to not say something that might prompt his weird behavior again.

"See you soon then!" And with that threat he quickly disappeared through the door.

With the blonde out of my room my body suddenly relaxed. I didn't even notice how stiff I became in the past couple of hours, not to mention the last few minutes. Feeling slightly weak I sat on my bed and immediately decided I needed to lie down. I wasn't used to so much human interaction, or so many confusing thoughts and emotions. I looked at my right hand remembering the feel of his skin, letting random thoughts and questions flow through my mind. None of this made any sense. I closed my eyes and pulled my knees to my chest trying to comfort myself. I decided to count down from ten. 10… 9… 8… 7…

What was this odd smell? I stopped counting and focused on sniffing. Scene probably looked ridiculous, but I didn't care. The aroma was strange, but not unpleasant. It vaguely resembled cinnamon mixed with something I couldn't pinpoint. Curiously, it seemed to be concentrated on my pillow…

I stopped abruptly and opened my eyes. This was… the blonde's smell, I realized finally. It shouldn't have taken me this long to figure it out. I stared at the pillow as if it could react in any way. I should wash these sheets, who knows where the boy has been. For all I knew he was a walking colony of bacteria and viruses.

For some reason though I lied back down on the sheets, faint cinnamon aroma gently wrapping around my body. I didn't know why but it made me feel… safe.

I would wash these sheets… Tomorrow.

* * *

Hello hello! It's J again. Thank you for following the story until now, I hope you continue to enjoy it!

A very warm thank you to Nala87. Raiye 159 and Haibane for reviewing!

Raiye: Once I finish this story I will most likely write an alternative version from Naruto's point of view! I think it would be nice to show his side as the story progressed.

Nala: Thank you so much for your encouragement as always! I'm happy that you like it. I'm a big fan of letting the characters develop and letting them take their time so I'm trying not to rush it too much. Hopefully though I will not overdo it and make it boring!

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The majority of the day passed quickly without any events worth mentioning in detail. I was praised for finishing my clay assignment already and handed in my art history essay. The last class of the day was a yet another compulsory module for all departments apart from the strictly science focused ones: Introduction to Literature. Having over a thousand students in one hall was impossible, therefore we were split into 9 sub-classes . Everyone in my department was allocated to Class 1, together with those students who studied Literature as their major. It seemed a bit pointless, as of course they would have an advantage over anyone else, but I cared very little about the subject anyway.

The class was held in one of the smaller buildings close to the center of the campus. By the time I reached the building it has just started to rain. I really wasn't looking forward to the two hours ahead of me. My appearance would certainly draw attention. It was easy to ignore it in a class of 20 students (who themselves were often unusual looking), but much harder when faced with over a 100. Flock mentality was the worst.

I found the room fairly easily. There weren't many people there yet, fortunately, but a good few eyebrows were raised at the sight of me. Not thinking much of it, I sat at the very end, and maintained my usual stare.

The room quickly filled with students. Art majors could be spotted in no time, especially compared to the ordinary looking Literature students who all seemingly wore similar clothing: semi-formal shirts, blazers or jumpers and dark trousers – a wannabe writer's uniform it seemed. Just as the teacher entered the classroom the bell rang.

We was a large man of over 50 years of age by my estimations. He had long white hair which he kept in a puffy ponytail. He looked around the class.

"Yo, everyone. I'm Jiraya, head of the Literature Department and your teacher for this subject." He greeted us loudly pointing a thumb at himself. His voice was 'friendly' but with a clear note of authority. "Though seeing as majority of students here are from this department most of you already know me." A short laugh went through the class, the apparent inside joke amused Literature majors.

"Let's see" he looked at what I presumed was the register. "We are joined today by Art students it seems." He looked around the class again, his eyes stopping at each one of the mentioned students briefly. "Welcome guys. I'm aware that probably none of you wants to be there, but let's do our best to make it work."

There was a silence and a few nods.

"Alright then!" He closed the register. "Let's go through what we will be doing this term and wha…"

The classroom door suddenly banged open.

"SORRY I'M LATE!" A frantic voice came from the boy who just entered the room. I was almost not surprised to see my blonde. Or rather, _the_ blonde. Why would I say 'my'?

"Naruto!' Jiraya quickly turned to him and looked at him sternly. "Can you never be on time?! I'm in the middle of the class already!" The man shouted at the panting boy. The literature part of the class laughed as I realized three things.

For one, from the sound of teacher's words and the amusement of students it was not an uncommon occurrence. Secondly, it meant that the blonde studied Literature. I found this information interesting for some reason, he didn't seem like the type. Lastly, it meant I was stuck with him in the same classroom at least twice a week for two hours. The thought made me wince – the possibility that he would leave me alone seemed very, very unlikely.

"Don't shout at me old man, I said I'm sorry!"

"That's not the way to speak to your teacher you know that brat?! Now find a place and sit!" The teacher shouted even louder. The blonde waved his hand at him dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Naruto, will you finally sit down?!" A shout came from the class. A girl a couple of rows ahead of me stood up and pointed her finger at the blonde. "Some of us don't want to stay after class because you were late!"

The boy looked at her.

"Okay, Sakura I get it."

She sat down and he started walking towards an empty seat next to her. Inevitably, his eyes landed on me.

"Woah, Gaara?! What are you doing here?" He exclaimed loudly, causing everyone's eyes to turn to me now. I swear I could have killed him in that moment, but fortunately the teacher intervened.

"Yeah Naruto great, I'm glad you have a friend in the class, but can you please finally take your place." His voice was annoyed and the sound of it finally made the boy obey. He sat down next to the girl from before, turning to me every couple of minutes. Sigh.

The rest of the class passed uninterrupted with occasional glances from the blonde, while I tried to think of a way to avoid him at the end of the class. The bell rang and I could see him starting to get up to come to me, but once again I was spared.

"Naruto!" Jiraya shouted at the blonde. "We need to talk, come with me." The boy shot me another glance, but having no choice he followed the teacher.

I quickly grabbed my stuff, put my headphones on and left the room, heading back to my dorm. Seeing the boy again stirred odd feelings inside me, and reminded me of everything that happened in the past 24 hours. Enjoying the smell he left behind on my bedding not being the least disturbing of it all. I needed to get away from him. Was I trying to hide? I stopped for a minute, surprised as I analysed my thoughts. It almost seemed as if I was afraid. Of what though I wasn't sure. Not exactly afraid of the boy himself, more so of the weird way he made me feel and his odd, unexplained behavior.

Though I wasn't really scared of course, I told myself. I just didn't want him to bother me again, it was annoying and frustrating.

The rain was pouring now but I didn't care, I didn't even own an umbrella. Getting wet did not bother me in any way. I turned quickly towards the Art Department building and headed straight to my shortcut. I wasn't convinced the blonde would follow me, but I did not want to take any chances by walking slowly. One of my favorite songs just came on as I entered the forest lifting my mood a little.

The path was covered in puddles so I slowed my pace a little not wanting all my clothes covered in dirt. It was ok if they were wet as they would just dry, but I didn't look forward to having to scrape dirt out of my trousers.

Suddenly, a large splash covered all of the back of my trousers in cold water. I turned surprised, vaguely noticing that it stopped raining. No points for guessing who was behind me holding an umbrella above me now. I took my headphones off and put them around my neck almost too bewildered to react properly.

"Man, Gaara did you not hear me?" his breath was short, probably because he was running. Running after me. I didn't bother answering him, just stared in disbelief.

"You are all wet!" he pointed out. Funny, it almost sounded like he was attempting to tell me off. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer I assume.

"…So?" I didn't even blink.

"So? You will get ill! Seriously!" he shook his head at me as if it was obvious. "Do you not care about your health?!"

I looked at him blankly.

"…Why do _you_ care."

He was slightly taken aback by my question and considered it for a while. Unexpectedly it seemed his confidence vanished, he wasn't looking at me anymore, which suddenly irritated me. What now? Why was he so confusing?

"Um, well… Because…" He stuttered very uncharacteristically for himself, now looking in an ambiguous direction to my left.

Impulsively, I grabbed his chin and make him look at me again.

"…Why." I asked again, staring into his eyes. I really wanted to know his reasons, I wanted him to explain everything because I understood nothing of it all. A few seconds passed, he swallowed loudly suddenly bringing to my attention the fact his face was very close to mine and the fact that his eyes seemed to glance at my lips. I could hear my heartbeat increase and a warm feeling filled my stomach. I barely stopped myself from looking at his slightly parted lips. My mind was going completely blank apart from the unexplained urge to… Do what exactly?

I let go of him and turned around to walk away, almost expecting him to say something to stop me, but he just stood there as I waked away.

I got back to my room, my clothes soaking wet. I quickly changed out of them and hanged them to dry before a puddle formed on the floor. Grabbing my towel I headed for the shower. As the hot water slowly warmed up my body I thought back to the blonde. Was he still standing there? There was a strange pain in my chest at the thought of him still in the rain.

Eventually I left the shower, trying to decide what to do with my evening. A small part of me had an absurd idea of going back to the forest to see if he was there, but I managed to surpass it eventually. I looked around my room blankly, searching for something to do. My eyes landed on the bookshelf. I remembered the blonde looked at one of the books the night before. It was 'Faust' By Goethe, one of my favorite authors. I knew it almost off by heart but opted to read parts of it again to pass time. I chose a random page. Scene 18, 'Gretchen's Room'. I sat down and read silently for a while. It was never my favorite part of the book, but this time a certain quote caught my attention:

_My heart's so heavy,  
My heart's so sore,  
How can ever my heart  
Be at peace any more?_

I stared at the words which for the first time seemed to get to me. Never before have I paid attention to this passage, I was never able to relate. Yet somehow the words seemed to finally gain some meaning.

I thought back to the sight of the blonde when he caught up with me, holding his umbrella above me. The look on his face, his eyes which seemed to show genuine concern and care, and the mixture of feelings inside my body, my reactions.

I sat in silence for a very long time, just staring ahead of me at nothing in particular. A heavy, sinking feeling developed in my stomach.

…Could it be I was falling for the blonde?

* * *

Well, well well! Would you look at that :D I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! The updates might be a little slower as I am starting exams tomorrow :s I do hope you enjoy the story and continue reading! As I mentioned before, this is my first fanfic so any comments or criticisms are welcome :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

None of my plans for that evening came to life after all. The turmoil of emotions in my head swallowed me completely, and before I realized it was already Tuesday morning. Did I sleep at all that night? I wasn't sure.

Tuesday was fortunately one of my least busy days, I had an hour of Art History in the morning followed by Sculpture until lunchtime, then a free afternoon. On my way to class I was so preoccupied with my thoughts I accidentally walked into someone. I almost lashed out on him before realizing that it was in fact _my _fault. I have never walked into anyone before.

"Watch it, freak." The guy tried to sound intimidating but I ignored him and continued on my way.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, last night's 'revelation' was shocking to say the least. I haven't reached any conclusions regarding the issue, though I was convinced I was not falling for the blonde. What was shocking was the idea alone – that I could possibly develop any kind positive feelings for anyone. That the idea even crossed my mind. I couldn't explain what brought this on. Perhaps even though I didn't realize it some part of me craved some kind of human interaction, and the blonde happened to cater to this side of me therefore triggering an emotional response. I wasn't sure if this even sounded plausible, but who knows. My personality was so complicated and twisted I wouldn't be surprised.

I sat through the art history class spacing out completely. I was annoyed with myself for thinking about the boy to the point where I couldn't focus on anything even though I really tried. It was all confusing and frustrating. I've been here for a mere week after all. All the walls I've built to protect myself, all the mechanisms that were supposed to shield me – how could they be so easily broken?

I barely registered the fact that the class was over and I needed to move. Fortunately, Sculpture was something I was looking forward to, I knew I'd still be able to get the work done, regardless of the mess inside my head. I handed my finished assignment from the week before and received praise from the teacher which I didn't care for. Since no one else was done I was to continue working in clay. Fine by me.

I was both relieved and anxious when the bell finally rang. I wanted to get back to the safety of my room as soon as possible, and I really hoped that this time I would not meet the blonde. Seeing him was the last thing I wanted. And although hard to admit, it was also something I hoped for. Maybe I was also bipolar.

It was still raining when I left the building, it hasn't stopped since yesterday. A ridiculous thought crossed my mind that even the weather decided to taunt me. I walked towards the main path this time, worrying things happened whenever I took the forest shortcut and this time I would rather get wet and tired than meet the blonde. Or maybe I didn't? No, I was definitely taking the longer route.

I suddenly noticed a familiar face standing nearby under the umbrella. The black haired guy, blonde's friend. What was he doing here? Was he looking for the blonde? I stared at him for a brief moment, which somehow he seemed to notice. He looked at me and started walking in my direction.

"You, what did you do to him?" he asked in an almost emotionless voice, with just a barely recognizable hint of threat. I stared at him in silence, not understanding his question. What did I do to whom?

"Naruto. You know, the blonde hyperactive guy?" he seemed to recognize my silent question. "I'm asking what did you do to him yesterday."

What I did to the blonde? As far as I knew I didn't do anything, barely asked him a question and left as he didn't answer. I noticed a sinking feeling in my stomach. Blonde's friend stared at me, trying to decipher anything from my face which remained blank and indifferent. He sighed, visibly annoyed.

"He came back yesterday, soaking wet and virtually refusing to say anything. I know he was with you after the class, I asked Sakura about it." He paused. "I'm asking you one last time."

I did not like the tone he used to speak to me, as if he had any authority over me. I didn't do anything to the blonde, he was the one who was constantly nagging me and confusing me with his odd behavior. I already had enough of this topic for the day.

"Perhaps you should ask him, not me." I answered icily and his eyes narrowed.

"I told you he didn't want to talk. I'm asking _you._"

"And I have no reason to tell you anything." I turned around and started walking away but he grabbed me but the collar and threw me to the ground. 'You little piece of shit' was all I could think before launching myself at him. He was fast, no wonder he dodged blonde's punches so easily before. He must have had some training before. Unfortunately for him, so did I. After a few seconds he was on the ground. I shot him a glare and smirked before taking my leave. I heard him clench his teeth behind me. If he still wanted to fight I would be more than willing to oblige, there was so much going on in the past few days I didn't mind taking it out on someone at all.

"Stay away from him or you will regret it!" he shouted behind me, though I didn't understand his threat. In his mind was _I_ the one seeking blonde's company?

Once again I entered my room completely drenched but my wet clothes and the inevitable puddle on the floor were the last thing on my mind. The sinking feelings was still there.

_What was wrong with the blonde?.._ I stood motionless for a while as the water dripped from my hair and clothes onto the wooden floor.

I eventually managed to rationalize that for one it wasn't my problem, and two the boy seemed to have constant mood swings anyway. By the next morning I have almost come to terms with my thoughts (namely by ignoring them). The last two hours of the day were Literature, meaning the blonde would be there. For some reason I really wanted to see his cheeky grin for once, just to have the heavy feeling in my stomach disappear.

The day dragged mercilessly. I admitted to myself that I really couldn't wait for the last class of the day. Finally the afternoon came and I quickly headed to the classroom. I was one of the first ones there. I sat silently at my spot at the back of the class and watched as the classroom filled with other students. I noticed the girl next to whom the blonde sat before. She shot me a glare before sitting down. I was _almost_ fidgeting in my spot by now but somehow managed to keep still. I was getting impatient but I reminded myself that the blonde apparently was always late anyway.

The class started with no blonde in sight. Five minutes. Ten Minutes. Twenty minutes passed. I sat emotionless with an unknown feeling of dread lingering around my body. Was something really wrong with him after all? I started biting my nails even though I hated that habit and thought I beat it years ago. I still didn't think I did anything fundamentally wrong, I just asked a question which he refused to answer. Perhaps something happened after I left?

It was all driving me mad. If I didn't do something I might end up killing someone again. Just as the bell rang I quickly grabbed my stuff and walked towards the blonde's friend. She looked at me with a hint of hostility.

"…Give me his number." I demanded in a calm but stern voice. She looked surprised and slightly intimidated which pleased me.

She swallowed loudly.

"No."

I must have heard it wrong.

"…What?"

"I won't give you his number." She rose to her feet. "Sasuke told me what you did to him. Or rather, that he didn't know what you did to him. Naruto is very precious to me, if you hurt him I will kill you."

I stared at her in a moderate disbelief. I've heard these kind of threats before, only then they were actually made by people willing to follow through on them. A dangerous glimmer entered my eyes. The girl must have noticed this as suddenly she looked much less confident than a moment before.

I could force her to give me the blonde's number. I was sure with a little bit of intimidation she would give in but something stopped me. She was the boy's friend, was it really fine to treat her like that? Suddenly I was concerned with what he would think about it. Maybe out of the two of us I was the strange one after all.

I sighed, took my notebook out of my bag, ripped a page out, wrote my number down and handed it to her.

"Then instead, give this to him." I caught the shock on her face only in the corner of my eye as I was already leaving. If I stayed any longer there was a high probability I would change my mind about this. Which was probably the smart thing to do, but in the past few days I didn't seem to learn anything about thinking first and acting afterwards.

I took the shortcut back to my room. The sky was grey, but as the rain stopped the previous evening at least the paths were almost dry. Once I got back I couldn't find myself a place or anything to do. Would the girl give him my phone number? There was a high possibility she just threw it away. Even if she did, what was I hoping to achieve by giving it to the blonde? It's not like I wanted to call him and if he called me and asked what I wanted… What would I say? Suddenly I would be the one without an answer.

Pacing around my room would lead me nowhere, I needed something to do. I quickly changed into a warmer top, put a hooded jumper over it, grabbed my bag and headed to the Art Department. At least I could occupy my hands with something to do while my thoughts circled frantically around my head.

It proved to be a good idea, as soon as I started working on a new sculpture I seemed to have calm down. A few hours passed and it was completely dark outside when I finished my piece. It was a head and a torso, however half of the face seemed to have had the skin and muscles ripped off, skull clearly showing. Strangely satisfied and substantially more calm I stored the work away and went to wash my hands when I felt a brief vibration in my pocket.

I took my phone out and my heart stopped.

_~Can we talk?_

It came from an unknown number but there was no doubt who sent it. Especially seeing as there was now a total of maybe 4 people who had my number.

I forced myself to calm down from the clear overreaction, after all it was just a text message for crying out loud. I considered what to reply.

_~When. _

There was no point in pretending I didn't want to talk to him, after all I gave him my number, and the whole situation really needed to be resolved, it was really starting to drain me. I haven't had any sleep in days. I waited for his reply only a few moments.

_~Now?_

My heart started beating faster again and I suddenly got nervous. I didn't bother analyzing my emotions anymore. I quickly replied:

_~Usual place then._

I quickly switched my phone off. This was my last attempt at not actually meeting the blonde. After all, it might not be exactly obvious what the 'usual place' was. Perhaps he wouldn't figure out I meant the oak tree. At this point I had no idea what I was thinking, I was clearly losing it.

I gathered my stuff reluctantly, not at all sure if it was a good idea at all. I switched the lights off behind me and left the room. My heart was pounding hard in my chest, I could clearly hear my pulse as I was getting closer to that damned tree. I wasn't even sure which would be worse, if he was there or if he _wasn't._

He was there.

He was facing away from me, perhaps expecting me to come from the direction of my dorm. I walked closer. The blonde quickly turned around, but instead of the cheerful expression I was expecting his face was inscrutable. I stopped a few feet away from him, neither of us saying a word. He was the one who suggested we talked so I decided to leave it up to him to break the silence.

"I was expecting you to come from the dorm." He started, forcing a smile. I studied his face trying to read something from his expressions.

"..I was in Art Department." I answered eventually.

"Oh." He paused looking down at his hands. It seemed as if he wanted to continue but didn't know how to approach the topic. The silence was getting longer.

"…Are you ill?" I decided to finally ask, still trying to delude myself that he would just answer my question, the feeling in my stomach would disappear and everything would be back to normal. What exactly was normal at this point though? I didn't know.

"Oh, no, well I have a bit of a cold." He looked apologetic for some reason. "It's not your fault though!" He quickly added.

I nodded, somewhat unconvinced.

"Um, well. About what you asked me before. Why did I care about your health." He paused and finally looked me in the eyes again. "You care as well."

My eyes grew slightly larger at his words. I stood in silence as they sunk in. Even if I didn't realize it before there was no denying it now. I just asked him whether he was ill. The heavy feeling in my stomach… I did care. There was no need to say anything, he knew he was right.

"Why do you care then?" he threw my own question back at me stepping closer, his eyes focused on mine. Now I was the one who wanted to look away, to break the eye contact. I had no idea what to say. I looked away. He grabbed my chin, almost exactly mimicking what I did before, and forced me to look back at him.

"Why?" He asked again softly and not waiting for my answer… He kissed me.

* * *

Hey guys, slightly longer Chapter than the earlier ones! Originally I wanted to break it into two parts, but I didn't like the flow of it so decided to do a longer one instead. I hope you enjoy!

A big thank you to Nala87 and Raiye159 for your constant support!

And a very warm hug for Manga Ren - I'm very glad you like the story so far, I hope you continue to enjoy it!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Warm. Soft. A faint aroma of cinnamon. My perception seemed to have shrunk and there were only those 3 things I could focus my attention on. Time seemed to have almost come to a halt. As if in slow motion I saw him close his eyes, his lips getting closer to mine… It's odd, I knew what was happening and yet it was the last thing I expected.

This was, of course, my first kiss. It never crossed my mind that I would ever kiss or be kissed by anyone, it seemed impossible. Yet, here we were, his soft lips gently pressed against mine. On top of lack of experience, the sheer shock from the blonde's action made me freeze. He took me by surprise and part of me wanted to push him away for invading my personal space. The other part…

I mean, it wasn't an exactly _unpleasant_ experience. The knot in my stomach seemed to have disappeared, and instead a warm fluttering feeling developed. But there were good reasons why I didn't trust people, why I didn't want them to touch me, why I became aggressive at any increasing proximity. A few acts of kindness and persistence couldn't change who I was, at least not that easily.

Why did he do such a thing? Was this a game to him? An experiment? Maybe just an item on his 'bucket list'? Becoming closer to someone only meant they could hurt you more. I knew nothing about him, how could I so easily trust his intentions?

I pushed him away, breaking the skin contact. The kiss lasted maybe a couple of seconds. He looked at me with a mixture of surprise and disappointment, but I could swear I saw a hint of understanding.

"Why?!" I asked him angrily. I usually kept my emotions at bay, but I didn't even bother this time. I was confused and hurt. Why was this happening to me? All I wanted was to come to college to study art in peace and quiet, yet here I was in the middle of this mess. Why could I never have what I wanted?

He was watching my closely, contemplating who knows what.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked after a pause. "You asked why I care about your health. Why I care in general. It's because I like you of course." He stated what apparently should have been obvious. Which it wasn't at all. How could he like me? Was he out of his mind? It hasn't been two weeks since he run into me, and on top of it all no one _liked_ me, I always made sure of it. What he was saying was unthinkable. Apparently he wasn't finished explaining his delusions yet.

"And I think you like me too."

I stared at him in utter consternation.

"Maybe you don't realise it yet, but you can't deny that you were worried about me." He grinned at me, this time sincerely.

Was this really why I was worried about him? I contemplated the idea. Logically, it made some sense. It explained the odd feeling in my stomach, my mixed emotions, and sudden overreactions. Aren't you supposed to know that you like someone though? I didn't know what to think.

The blonde smiled at me.

"It's okay you know, it took me a while to figure it out too." He walked towards the oak tree. "That's why I couldn't answer you before, you know? I guess it suddenly clicked and I got shy."

He laughed and sat down by the tree, looking at me. Despite any better judgement or instincts I had left I wanted to sit next to him. It took all my willpower to not move. He sighed quietly.

"Heh, well I wasn't expecting an immediate answer anyway I guess." He looked up at the tree branches. A couple of leaves fell as the wind blew and he watched them for a while, before looking back at me.

"Will you…" he hesitated for a few seconds. "Will you at least think about it?"

I nodded slowly. It's not like I was going to forget what happened. He smiled, though there was a hint of sadness behind it which I did not understand. He looked up again. I had a feeling he wanted me to go, to leave him alone for a while. He didn't remind me of the hyperactive blonde I met a few days before. I slowly walked away, but I couldn't resist a brief glance back at him. Unexplainably, I felt a short pain in my chest when I saw he didn't move an inch.

The rest of the night went… I'm not even sure if it passed quickly or not. Contrary to my promise I couldn't think at all, it was as if someone put me on autopilot. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism, it all happened too quickly for me to be able to process it in a sensible manner.

I skipped all my classes the next day and stayed in bed instead. My body was exhausted from the lack of sleep and I needed rest. I managed to have a short nap, which helped a bit. Progressively I was going from not thinking about anything to obsessively replaying last night in my head. His lips were so soft… Were my lips also soft? I touched them with my fingers but couldn't tell. It did not bother me that he was a guy. Male, female, I didn't care about genders either way. Up until a week ago I didn't care about anything at all.

I rolled over to lay on the other side. Naruto. I wasn't sure when did I start referring to the blonde by his name. Probably sometime between my nap and the 100th replay of the kiss in my head. I wanted to see him. No I didn't, he would hurt me like everyone else did. Or maybe I did. Or perhaps not.

Suddenly I heard my phone vibrate and almost jumped out of my skin. I quickly grabbed it from the nightstand, my heartbeat distinctively frantic.

~_Are we still on for 2morrow if weather is good?_

I swear I almost smiled reading the message. I completely forgot about the promise I made to Naruto a couple of days ago, but clearly he didn't and still wanted to go through with it. The idea of spending so much time with him was both terrifying and for some reason almost exciting. I wasn't about to kid myself, I wanted to see him. In a worst case scenario I could always leave, right?

_~If you want to._

I could have just replied with a simple yes but… I wasn't sure what the 'but' was to be honest. Maybe I wanted a clear confirmation that he still wanted to be in my company? I didn't have to wait long for his reply.

_~Awesome! Meet u at the usual spot at 10?_

It seemed Naruto was able to communicate his peculiar personality through text messages. I could almost picture his excitement.

_~Yes._

This must have been the most messages I have ever exchanged with anyone. Not expecting any other texts I put my phone back on the night stand. Naruto's excitement seemed to be contagious because admittedly I was really looking forward to it, though for the life of me I couldn't pinpoint why. Or perhaps I was still refusing to acknowledge what he considered 'obvious'.

Despite this excitement, I slept through majority of the night.

Friday morning came and with a hint of satisfaction I noticed that the weather was great. I almost eagerly went to my classes. Having spent the last 24h barely moving from bed my fingers were itching to do some sculpting.

Apparently by now everyone finished at least one clay sculpture and we were to start with papier-mâché. I prepared my base and started forming the wires which were going to become the 'skeleton' of my work. I decided to take my time, knowing that even if I was now the last one still working on the backbone of the piece I would be the only one to work on it in my spare time anyway.

The class ended and instead of feeling tired after the whole day I was becoming strangely energetic. The afternoon seemed to stretch over the course of days, but finally it was almost 10pm. I put on a few extra layers and packed two blankets and a camping light into my bag. After all we were to sit outside for a long time, and even though it was warm during the day the autumn nights could get cold.

I got to the tree a couple of minutes early. I put one of the blankets on the ground, turned the lamp on and sat down. There wasn't much point in sitting in complete darkness, I only did it when I wanted to think. Somehow I doubted I'd have a chance with Naruto around.

He was late, and although I wasn't in a state of panic yet I was beginning to worry. What if he wouldn't come? I knew I would be hurt and disappointed and the feeling of dread only grew larger. I was starting to get angry for putting myself in this position when I heard someone approach in a hurry.

My heartbeat increased as I saw the familiar tanned face and blonde hair.

"Ugh, sorry I'm late!" he breathed heavily a few times, trying to catch some air. "Sasuke was being a jerk."

I nodded, acknowledging his explanation, not sure what to say. Fortunately the atmosphere seemed to be much lighter than a few nights ago. He sat down next to me.

"Oh you brought a light, cool! Seriously, I'm so excited, whole night in the forest!" he exclaimed his smile growing wider. I was pleased to see him happy and talkative. I watched as he started unpacking things from his bag.

"I brought some snacks and drinks too! At first I wanted to do a campfire but then realised it may not be the smartest idea in the forest." He laughed, scratching his cheek in slight embarrassment. It was the first time I noticed him do that, but inevitably my eyes almost immediately fell upon his lips, and all of a sudden I couldn't focus on anything else. Fortunately, he was still shuffling through this stuff.

"And I also have a hat and some gloves, in case it got very cold!" he continued describing the contents of his bag to me. "Oh, and another pair of socks too! My feet tend to get cold." He showed me a pair of black socks and put it back.

"I'm not sure what kind of food you like so I brought random things. "He turned to face me. "I have sweets and chocolate, and some crisps… Gaara?"

He blinked surprised a couple of times as I silenced him with my finger over his lips. Damn all of this.

"…Just shut up." I told him crashing my lips into his. From the moment I saw him tonight I wanted to feel that softness and warmth again. I took him by surprise, but quickly he responded, moaning softly, making something stir deep inside me. He moved towards me putting his arms around my neck. I pulled him closer, savouring every second.

He stroked my hair and neck making me shiver. It felt unreal. His touch, his lips, his smell, the sounds he made…

There was no doubt about it. I wanted more. I wanted him to be mine, and only mine.

* * *

As always, thank you for following the story! A very warm hug for Manga Ren, Nala87, Raiye159, Lianaaa and Odette Ashworth for your comments and encouragement! I hope you continue to enjoy the story! TBC.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

I listened to quiet snores of the boy leaning on me. It was almost dawn and the forest was slowly becoming lighter. I don't know how many times I looked at the sleeping blonde in the past few hours. Maybe it would be easier to count the times I looked away?

Last evening's events, or perhaps I should say: my own action's, although unexpected produced some remarkable results. I'm not sure how long we kissed for, eventually with a wild grin on his face Naruto buried his face in my chest, hugging me like he would never let go. Unsure how to react I eventually decided to hug him back. I felt warmth radiating from him not only due to his body heat but also something else, something that was hard to describe.

He eventually let go of me and reached over to his bag taking some snacks out, apparently. I suppose kissing someone blurs the lines of personal space as Naruto sat back down this time leaning on me. I didn't mind at all. It seemed me taking initiative before put him in an incredibly good mood as was now talking happily about topics which seemed to have randomly entered his mind. I still didn't know why did he care about me _exactly_ but for now I was content with the situation. We were here and now, true to my motto I wasn't going to fret over the future, at least not yet.

Absent-mindedly, only half listening to his monologue I pulled the blanket over him, which immediately caused him to pause in whatever he was saying. I looked at him questioning and noticed a little blush that creeped on his tanned cheeks. It was… cute I guess is the right word? Perhaps to hide his embarrassment he looked up at me and grinned.

"See? I was right!"

I gave him a blank look.

"…About?"

"You really do care!" he exclaimed happily as I rolled my eyes. We sat in a pleasant silence for a minute or two.

"You know, I figured you aren't much of a talker, but I can't be the only one talking." He said finally. "I still remember you own me lots of info you know?" He shifted a bit to look me in the eyes as I still remained silent. He sighed heavily.

"Okay how about this. A question for a question. I ask you one, you answer and then you get to ask me something!"

I never shared personal information with anyone, I hated the idea. Though I never shared as much as touch with anyone either not to mention kissing. I knew Naruto for such a short time yet, for some reason, he almost made me _want_ to open up to him a bit. And I would also get a chance to learn something about him in return which was an attractive prospect in itself.

"…Fine." I answered eventually which visually pleased Naruto.

"Yes, score!" he turned to me and gave me a peck on the cheek. I thought to myself that I could never get used to someone spontaneously displaying such behavior towards me. He leaned back on me making himself comfortable.

"Sweet, I go first then!" Naruto exclaimed before I could protest. "Let's see… Oh, I know, let's start simple. What do you study?"

The question somewhat surprised me. Or rather, it made me realize how little we know about each other. He guessed before that I study something to do with art, I guessed now he meant my major.

"Sculpture."

"Oh really? Do you want to be an artists as a professional?"

"…I thought you said question for question." I told him in a slightly teasing voice. Or at least as teasing as it was possible considering my naturally monotone tone.

"Fineee, I guess it's your turn then." He pretended to pout as I thought about my question for a minute.

"Where do you live?" I don't know why I asked this specific question. Maybe I thought I had to start somewhere.

"Oh, not that far actually! It's about a 3h drive from here. It's a small town called Fire. Dumb name I know!" he smiled at me. "Alright, my turn! Do you have any siblings?"

I pondered at the question for a few seconds.

"Yes, both are older. A brother and a sister." I replied finally. I didn't add that they both hate me.

"Wow, must be nice, I always wanted to have siblings…" he trailed off. Perhaps in a normal family it was indeed nice, but I wouldn't know.

"Okay, your turn to ask then!"

"…What's your family like?" I bit my tongue a second too late. Why did I even care? Family was a pointless thing where people were forced to pretend to care for each other because they shared same blood. Yet, Naruto was so cheerful and upbeat I thought that his family must be nice, and thus perhaps interesting to hear about.

"Well… I don't really have a family." He smiled at me but there was a certain sadness behind it. My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach. "My parents died shortly after I was born. I was raised by various people until I could take care of myself. From then, I was sort of alone."

This was probably the last thing I expected to hear. From his behaviour no one would tell, but I guessed he must have been lonely. I felt a certain degree of understanding, I knew what's it like to be alone. Only I decided to isolate myself from everyone while he desperately searched for people's approval. Same circumstances, completely opposite attitudes. I remained silent for a while.

"Oh yeah, my question!" his smiled slowly returned to his face. "What do you like to sculpt?"

This wasn't something that was easy to answer or explain.

"…I'm not sure myself. I let my hands take charge and see what happens." I answered. This was probably the least complicated way to explain it. It was my turn to ask.

"…What's on your Bucket List?" It was a very direct question, possibly too personal but I was always as subtle as a flying brick. He looked at me slightly surprised. Did I startle him with how direct I was or did he not remember mentioning it to me? I wasn't sure.

"Oh, just you know. Things I want to do, things I want to see." He sounded almost serious but the slight note of mischief was not missed. I glared at him to let him know it didn't count as an answer.

"Haha, fine, okay!" he gave in with a laugh. "Well, I can't tell you everything, we just met recently you know?" he winked at me and laughed noticing my deadpan expression. Meeting me 'recently' did not stop him from stalking me and doing other things. I nodded anyway, some information was better than none.

"Good, I will tell you 3 things for now then!" he smiled at me. "One was to stay outside all night! I hate dark places and forests at night are especially creepy… So I wanted to do it to kinda face the fear, you know?"

I nodded at him. I already knew about this, after all that's why we were sitting under the blanket at night in the middle of the forest.

"Right, so that's one. Number two." He continued. "I want to publish my own book."

Now that was a new piece of information. I already knew he studied Literature, but I didn't take him for an aspiring writer. More of a teacher material, maybe. He paused for a while, looking at me, unsure of what my reaction will be. Did he think I would laugh?

"…And the third one?"

He hesitated for a while, fidgeting slightly.

"…To fall in love at first sight." He whispered almost too quietly for me to hear. Almost.

A silence followed as I wasn't sure what to say. He clearly seemed uncomfortable saying this, possibly thinking I would mock him or laugh at this idea. Just because I didn't understand the concept of falling in love didn't mean I thought it didn't exist. Who am I to judge other's people opinion on it?

He stood up suddenly.

"Man, I really need to piss, be right back!" he run off into the nearby bushes.

I only just noticed how comfortable and warm it was when he was next to me. Not for the first time I reflected on how things have changed in the past 2 weeks. I suppose I started to acknowledge that I actually liked the blonde. I wanted him close to me.

He came back a few minutes later and, to my dismay, sat down upright next to me. What prompted this sudden shyness? I wanted to show the blonde that I wasn't going to judge him, but I was unsure how to do that exactly. Eventually I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close. This felt much better. He seemed to like it as well, judging from the smile on his face. He closed his eyes and we sat in silence for a while. And before I realised the blonde fell asleep.

The sun was visible now and judging it's position it must have been around 5 in the morning. Naruto didn't exactly stay up all night, but I suppose he did spend the night outside in the forest so it should count. I didn't mind being in a way stranded by the blonde but my back was getting very sore and I really needed to stretch. I contemplated on the best way to wake him up.

His face looked very peaceful. My eyes of course drifted to his slightly parted lips. I still could not understand how could they be so unbelievably soft. I was sort of holding him with the arm I had around him but I let go and directed my hand towards his face. Gently I stroked his lips with my fingers taking in the mellow texture. Even if I tried I probably wouldn't be able to help myself. I leaned in and kissed him softly causing him to stir a little.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked into mine.

"…Good morning." I said to him in a quiet voice.

My heart rose at the sight of his sleepy smile. He kissed me back.

"Morning…" His voice was still a little drowsy. He yawned and a few seconds later he realized that it was, in fact, morning.

"Oh no, when did I fall asleep?! Why didn't you wake me up?!" he exclaimed loudly, jumping to his feet.

"…You seemed to be tired so I let you sleep." I explained plainly. That, and I of course enjoyed it, but I didn't say it out loud. I took this chance to stand up and stretch.

"Well, it still counts!" he proclaimed happily. "That's another item off my list!"

I started packing up the blankets and Naruto gathered the various rubbish laying from his snacks. The weather looked promising and for some reason for the first time in a long while I was in a good mood. I was simply content. Only a small part of me frowned at the thought of being away from my blonde.

"Hey, Gaara um… You aren't gonna be sleeping now anyway, right? Do you want to grab breakfast together?" Naruto asked timidly. I almost smiled realizing that he also wanted more of my company.

Though I wasn't big on eating I decided to agree.

"…Why not."

A smile brightened his face.

"Sweet! Let's go to mine then? If you want we can drop your stuff off first."

I nodded in agreement and after everything was packed we started walking towards my dorm. I only barely recognised his subtle hints as his hand brushed against mine, until he realised these were lost on me and grabbed my hand. His big blue eyes looked at me seeking permission, but how could I have anything against it?

I swear I would have given him anything he wanted at this point.

* * *

Sorry for a few days without an update! I'm in the middle of my exams unfortunately.

I hope you continue to enjoy the story! Thank you very much for the reviews and words of encouragement, they mean a lot! TBC.


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